One of the biggest stereotypes about K-Pop giant YG Entertainment is that they disregard appearances when it comes to their artists. This time-old phrase gives them the reputation of having talented artists who may not be traditionally attractive.
Refuted by fans throughout the years and mentioned by the artists themselves, it is a question that interested WINNER‘s HOONY (also known as Lee Seung Hoon) who sought to confirm this with the relevant staff members.
He did so in his interview with Suk Eun Jae, the leader of the casting and audition team who plays a key role in picking trainees including TREASURE and BABYMONSTER.
When talking about the standards of the team when evaluating a candidate, Suk Eun Jae took the opportunity to clarify their stand.
There are rumors that YG does not focus on appearances. That would be a lie.
— Suk Eun Jae
In truth, their decisions are, in fact, partly affected by the visuals of the potential trainee. A handsome or pretty candidate can be more memorable such as what happened with BABYMONSTER’s Ruka.
In Ruka’s audition, I met her near the bathroom during a short break. She was so pretty. My head turned like the girl in Exorcist to see her.
— Suk Eun Jae
This is not to say, however, that model-like appearances will give someone a noticeable advantage. The “Mother of YG Trainees” made sure to mention that attractive features will not immediately make someone a part of YG Entertainment. They must still be skilled and have innate potential compared to thousands of other hopefuls.
But does that mean a pretty or handsome face automatically passes? That’s not true either.
— Suk Eun Jae
To be more precise, HOONY drilled down on another interpretation of the stereotype: “How about, ‘YG cares less about appearances’?” Here, Suk Eun Jae agreed that there is some truth to it. Compared to other companies , YG Entertainment does not hold the attractiveness of a person to such a high standard.
It’s further down on the list of priorities. You’ll have to have an appealing factor and potential.
— Suk Eun Jae
That said, fans can all agree that every single artist of theirs is a visual in their own right!
Check out the full video below to learn more about their trainee process.
This content was originally published here.
